Fire onboard INEOS Britannia’s AC40

Barcelona, Spain (February 16, 2024) – INEOS Britannia, Britain’s challenger for the 37th America’s Cup, suffered damage to one of their one-design supplied AC40 training boats, Athena, after a fire onboard.

The two British one-design AC40s (Athena and Sienna) had left the dock early for a two-boat race-training day and towed to the Northeast of Barcelona City to find some good breeze. At 10:05 CET whilst sailing off Mataro, the crew onboard Athena were required to react to a very sudden electrical fire highlighted by smoke coming out of the forward hatch.

The team chase boat was quickly alongside, fire extinguishers were deployed, but water was required to be pumped into the forward hatch to submerge the lithium battery to contain the fire, no one was injured in the incident.

After stabilizing the yacht and contacting the emergency services, the team had a long tow back to the INEOS Britannia team base, with constant monitoring of the crew onboard and the lithium battery.

At 14:45, Athena arrived back at the team base, where the fire services were waiting and the battery was then safely removed. The response was well managed with specialist training coming to the fore.

The damage will now be assessed by the shore team, both AC40’s were not due to be on the water next week, with a planned maintenance week.

INEOS Britannia Skipper and Team Principal Sir Ben Ainslie said, “Fire onboard any boat is always an incredibly difficult situation to manage. I want to personally thank the team for their professionalism and the emergency services for their support. We will now focus on assessing the damage to Athena alongside completing the final fitout of our AC75 Race Boat which we will see in Barcelona in April.”

INEOS Britannia crew aboard:
Dylan Fletcher – Pilot
Ben Cornish – Pilot
Luke Parkinson – Flight Controller
Alex Hughes – Flight Controller

Following the publication of the AC37 Protocol and AC75 Class Rule on November 17, 2021, the AC75 Class Rule and AC Technical Regulations were finalized on March 17, 2022. The entry period opened December 1, 2021 and runs until July 31, 2022, but late entries for the 37th America’s Cup may be accepted until May 31, 2023. The Defender was to announce the Match Venue on September 17, 2021 but postponed the venue reveal, confirming it would be Barcelona on March 30, 2022. The 37th America’s Cup begins October 12, 2024.

Teams revealed to challenge defender Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL):
• INEOS Britannia (GBR)
• Alinghi Red Bull Racing (SUI)
• Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli Team (ITA)
• NYYC American Magic (USA)
• Orient Express Racing Team (FRA)

2023-24 Preliminary Regattas
September 14-17, 2023 (AC40): Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain
November 30-December 2 (AC40): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
August 22-25, 2024 (AC75): Barcelona, Spain

2024 Challenger Selection Series
August 29-September 8: Double Round Robin
September 14-19: Semi Finals (Best of 9)
September 26-October 5: Finals (Best of 13)

2024 America’s Cup
October 12-21: 37th Match (Best of 13)

Additionally, 12 teams will compete in the 2024 Youth & Women’s America’s Cup.

Noticeboard: https://ac37noticeboard.acofficials.org/
Additional details: www.americascup.com/en/home

Source: INEOS Britannia